Senki Zesshou Symphogear Z
by XVX 68
Summary: Zach almost gets himself killed walking down the streets. A sudden gain in power and a sudden loss of an artifact and his life is turned inside out. this story is also available p?sid 1746&textsize 0&chapter 1
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1 Awakening

Zach had it good. Zach had it real good. Being a British transfer student in Tokyo's 'Hard Ground' (K) Academy, he was almost like an idol. Not that he ever noticed poor Nodoka and the rest of his ever-growing fan club. All Zach cared about was his friends, where he was going with his life, and his beloved Flying V Gibson electric guitar.

"Pssh... another love letter? I get that I'm quirky and all but geez, these girls don't let up.. Fuck it, I'll read it later." Muttering to himself in his native tongue, Zach closed his locker and peered around the hall. The only thing he didn't like about this place was how he couldn't mutter to himself in English, no matter how hard he conceals it. "No big deal, I've gotta go meet with Ichika soon anyway." This time he talked to himself in Japanese, and he noted how nobody stared at him for that. Besides, this was Tokyo after all, why his parents decided to just up and move from his hometown, Birmingham, he'll never know. Ok, maybe he did know. But he certainly didn't want anyone to know how big of an otaku his dad was, hell no. If word got out about that, all he'd have left was the die-hard fanclub that's been slowly growing over the past few months. He minced down the hall drowned in his thoughts, plugging in his headphones and hitting shuffle. His second favourite song blasted through his expensive headphones, and he slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Humming along to himself, he left the school campus and started down the cramped Tokyo streets. He was supposed to meet Ichika and his pals at that new crépe stand in the park a few blocks from where he was, near the centre of the city. Humming along to himself, he made his way down the grimy city streets in the afternoon summer sun, zoning out the world as he walked alone. 'Maybe I should join the music club next year, I've heard their bassist is pretty good. Beats having no club, I did transfer half way through the school year after all. Why did they have to leave half-way through my summer? Damn parents...' Zach's thoughts clouded his mind as he trudged his path, oblivious to the world. Shame on him, he was crossing the road, not looking.

Hibiki was on edge. This was her first job after saving the world, again. Despite everything that happened, the Noise were still at large, so her time under the Disaster Squad definitely wasn't through just yet. They were transporting some relics for testing across Tokyo, to a facility in the centre for testing. Even after what happened, they were still on track to produce general arms to fight the Noise on an Army level. It wouldn't exactly shorten her time with the 2nd, but it would make her job a bit more.. liveable. She was pretty happy to hear the news, all it meant was less casualties in the face of the Noise. And that was all she could care about.

"What the?! SHIT!"

The car suddenly jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding the kid crossing the street. The car tipped, chucking the case of relics out the open car window, hitting the latch as the 5 relics stored inside flew across the empty street. There was a sickening crunch as the car rammed into the nearest lamppost and came to a halting stop. Hibiki lost consciousness.

"B-Blood... that's my blood..."

Zach muttered to himself, looking at the pendant that just punched a hole in his belly. He immediately applied pressure to the wound with his left hand, his right quickly fishing for his phone. Pulling out the headphones from the jack, he jammed in the emergency number 119. "Hello, this is the Police Force Emergency line, what's the problem?"

"A.. a care just crashed... this pendant thing... it stabbed me in the gut. I need help! I'm b-bleeding..."

"Roger that. We have traced your call and have sent officers to investigate. We will call the Ambulance service soon. Officers will be on the scene in 10 minutes, ambulance 10-15. Hold on out son, we're coming to get you."

The call went dead. Zach smiled and put his phone back in his pocket. "Thank goodness.. looks like I'm not gonna die." He set his bag on the ground and knelt by it, holding his wound. He could hear sirens in the distance, but where he was it would still be another five minutes until they got here. 'I better check out the car, they could need help immediately.' Slowly inching his way up to standing, Zach left the safety of his bag to check out the crash. There was a dull pain for every step he took, but he probably wouldn't sleep if he didn't at least try. The guy in the front seat wasn't looking so hot, but the big guy in the red shirt and the girl looked all right, if unconscious. He stood there and watched as his shirt got bloodier, leaning back on the car. "Man.. what a fuck up. I'll be in hospital for at least three days for this.." Something in the car stirred.

"Damnit Kazanari.. what have you gotten yourself into this time..."

The boy leaning on the car turned around to greet him. Tall, blonde, muscular stature. This boy wasn't from Japan, Genjuro thought instantly. His hand covered his white shirt, which was stained with crimson. Genjuro visibly gasped.

"Hey man, sorry about all this... Ambulance is on the way, you ok?" The boy's Japanese was a bit off and he spoke in an unfamiliar accent, but he looked cheerful enough. Genjuro adjusted himself.

"You sure you should be asking me that...?"

"Zach. Zach Lowe."

"You sure you should be asking me that, Mr. Lowe?" Genjuro shifted again, attempting to break free of his seatbelt.

"I'm fine, I think..." His eyes dropped to the stain on his shirt, and he cursed in a foreign language.

"Wait a second, let me get out of this car. I know first-aid..." Breaking free of his seatbelt, hew swivelled around to kick the door open. That's when he saw them.

"Mr. Lowe watch out!"

Zach whipped around to face what was behind him.

"Shit! The Noise?!" Zach couldn't believe his eyes. He knew there was some huge business with Symphogear users and Noise a month ago, but hot damn did he never plan to see them in the... flesh? As he stared at the creatures encroaching on his position from down the street, a certain something started to glow in his belly. Even as the glow edged on his vision he stared hard at the Noise. 'Looks like I'm gonna die after all' Something welled up inside him, though whether is was sadness or something deeper he couldn't tell. His very minutes were numbered, so he almost didn't care, it would all be behind him soon...

"Zach!" It was the guy in the car. He didn't take his eyes off the Noise.

"Zach this is fucking crazy, but if you want to live, sing!"

"Bring forth the fury of Ysmir..."

Brilliant light flashed before Zach as the Relic awakened. He was lifted into the air, a bubble around him. His eyes were screwed shut as the transformation began. His chest ballooned out, his crotch sucked in. He shrank as a tight bodysuit covered him from head to toe, forming lines of grey black and white. Armguards clanked onto him from both sides, moving half-way up his now small bicep. Armour ran down his legs, stopping half-way up his thigh. Boots clamped onto his feet, and a headset emerged onto his head. His blonde hair exploded out to reach the bottom of his lower back, as his face reposisitoned and rearranged. He lost his five o' clock shadow immediately. His armour finished, he hefted a European broadsword-looking device and cried out.

"Now fight, Zach! Chop them to bits and save us!"

He jumped into the thick of it and started singing.

We're all hell bent on destruction

Trying to erase black spots on our souls

Hide from a violent eruption

Cataclysmic engulfing us all.

He slashed at the Noise, hacking them down with each deadly blow. They circled him, drawing ever nearer as he hacked their comrades into dust.

Lay down

Tonight

In front of the things

That conquer us all.

Fighting his way through a point in the circle, he flew to the outside and steadied his hands on the hefty blade. The Noise marched towards him, oblivious of his power. Letting out a scream, he ran towards the army of the Noise, lifting his sword high.

Children of the night.

Throw your hands up in the air.

We all know we've lost the fight.

Hope dies out and we can see the end.

Black days begin!

Smashing the oncoming onslaught, he fell to the ground, exhausted, The Symphogear armour peeled off him reverted back into his school uniform. A new pendant around his neck, Zach fell onto his new puffy chest and blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

"She's coming to!"

"Call the Commander!"

"Be ready with something to drink!"

'Is someone else the same as I am?' Zach's groggy thoughts trailed through his mind. As his eyes edged open, he could see three girls looming over his bed. One was a tall, pretty girl with flowing blue hair, someone he instantly recognized as Kazanari Tsuabasa, a pop idol in Japan. Standing to her left was a girl with short white hair with two long pigtails, who was surprisingly cute and surprisingly well-endowed. On Tsubasa's right stood the girl Zach saw in the car accident, a perky and petite blonde-haired girl with orange eyes.

"Are you all right?" The white haired girl spoke to him. He looked into her red eyes, grateful someone here cared about him. Closing his eyes, he used his hand to prop himself up into a sitting position, a dull pain echoing to him from his belly.

"I thi-" His hands instantly shot to cover his mouth. 'What the fuck?! Since when did my voice get so fucking high?' He looked around at the girls who had a grin on their faces.

"I don't think she knows." Tsubasa whispered to the blonde girl amidst giggles.

'She? Who the fu- Oh no. OH NO. NONONONONO.' Zach's hands danced crazily around her body as she inspected everything she could think of.

"IT'S GONE!"

"WHY DO I HAVE...?"

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Zach screwed her eyes shut and fell back onto the pillow. 'How could this happen? All I remember was getting attacked by the Noise after that car tipped over. Someone was fighting them... someone with a sword. Was that me? Holy shit...'

The three girls at the side of his bed started giggling, which turned into hearty laughter.

"Oh goodness, Zach-chan, you're so cute!" The blonde girl laughed, wiping a tear from her eye.

"She does put on a pretty good show!" The white haired girl giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

Zach shot up into a sitting position, making her new boobs bounce about. Her hands covered them up without second thought, his face turning beet red.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" She shouted, her new voice quavering.

The door hissed open, and Genjuro strode in, a stupid grin on his face.

"Nice to meet you again, Ms. Lowe." His face instantly straightened, but his lip quivered, obviously biting back laughter.

"I think I can explain that to you. As it turns out, Zach Lowe, you are one of the Attuned. Being attuned means you can activate and control Symphogear, a versatile fighting suit."

"However, Symphogear are powered by song, as you probably know, and only certain wavelengths of song will resonate with a Symphogear. In short, despite being Attuned, Symphogear only responds to a girls song. So it turned you into a girl, so you could fight the Noise."

"But why me? Aren't these things powered by relics? I'm British, none of these Japanese relics should work for me, right? I mean I have a different accent and I sang the.. I dunno what to call it... the song that awakened it in British!"

Genjuro smiled, and stepped towards the side of her bed. Zach quivered. He was huge. And not just tall as a tree, the man was built like a rhino. She had no doubts that if she were to fight this man he would crush her.

"We are the Second Disaster Relief Squad. With the most powerful Symphogear users in Japan, we were protecting a shipment of five Relics from Europe. Two came from Germany, two came from Britain and one came from Spain. The Relic, which is hanging around your neck, was constructed out of a fragment of the Relic Ysmir, a great 2-handed broadsword. You wielded the power of Ysmir to save us after the crash, and for that, we are grateful. However, it seems to have... messed you about a bit."

Zach cursed under her breath in English. Trust her fucking luck to get caught up in such a mess.

"Could I be alone for a while, please? She turned away from the three girls and Genjuro. "I need a while to think..."

"Sure, Ms. Lowe. We've left some clothes for you on the chair. We'll be waiting in the hall when you're ready."

Zach sighed.

"Thanks a bunch."

The three girls and the Commander left the room, and after that the doctors trickled out too, satisfied with their data. Zach sat upright in the bed, staring down at her new chest.

'How could this have happened to me... oh god. What will my parents think? What will my friends think?' She lifted her new arms and inspected them. Soft, dainty hands. Thin, delicate arms. Creamy smooth skin. This was all too real.

She sighed again, and looked up to the ceiling, letter her long, blonde hair flow out behind her.

"Gonna have to get used to that..." She muttered to herself in English. Looking back down and around the room, she spotted a full-length mirror in the corner. Climbing out of bed, she ambled over to the mirror, where she gave herself a thorough exam. She'd lost a foot in height. She's lost a couple pounds in weight. She had a cute face, a small, curvaceous body, average sized boobs and smooth, lissom soft skin. Everywhere. Her legs, her armpits, she even checked under there. No hair whatsoever.

"Damn.. this skin is enticingly soft... No. Not here. Not in this body." She glanced over to the chair where they said they'd left her some clothes.

'Looks different to my school uniform, but definitely a uniform.' Walking over to the chair, she pick up the first garment. It was a navy blue jacket, or more suitably, a cardigan which formed an arrow pointing down. The arrow cut out around the belly button and had a single button and two pockets. Under the jacket was a simple red tie and a white shirt sporting frill around the collar, in the same colour as the jacket. Under that was... a chequered blue skirt.

"A skirt. A fucking skirt. I'VE BEEN A GIRL TEN FUCKING MINUTES AND THEY WANT ME TO WEAR A FUCKING SKIRT?" Zach just stood and stared down the skirt, wishing for it to become a pair of trousers. To her dismay. The skirt didn't change.

"ARRRRRGH!" Zach heard a giggle from the other side of the door.

Fuck it.

After five minutes regretting her decision. Zach pressed the button for the door. She thanked whatever heavens above that the underwear was plain, hell no was she dealing with any kind of frills at all. The minute the door opened, four faces turned on her and lit up. All she could do was stare at the floor and hope she died of shame.

"Zach-chan you're so cute!"

"Ok," Zach mumbled, as the blonde girl got up and rushed to hug her. Zach gasped, then steeled herself as the other three walk towards her.

"Lookin' good girl!" The white haired girl cooed, a sheepish grin plastered to her face.

"Where's my uniform?" Zach mumbled into the blonde girl's shoulder.

"Ruined, I'm sorry. That Relic you took to the belly really ripped your shirt." Genjuro commented, seemingly have thrown away her uniform himself.

"We'd better introduce ourselves. I'm Yukine Chris, just call me Chris." The blonde haired girl pulled back.

"I'm Hibiki, Tachibana Hibiki, nice to meet you!" She squealed in delight. Hibiki was clearly having too much fun with this.

The blue haired girl spoke up, though Zach knew who she was. "Kazanari Tsubasa, nice to meet you." She extended her hand in greeting. Zach shook it weakly.

"Kazanari Genjuro. Commander of the 2nd Disaster Relief Squad, nice to meet you... again." He chuckled.

"Well.. y-you probably know who I am but I'll say it anyway. I'm Zach Lowe, and I used to live in Birmingham, UK but I recently transferred over here with my parents.. N-nice to meet you."

The look on their faces said it all. It was official. They all thought she was cute.


	3. Chapter 3

"So where exactly are we, anyway?" Zach pondered, looking around the dark hall. "Are we underground?"

"Close, we're in the 2nd Disaster Relief Squad HQ. And that HQ is a submarine."

Zach stopped in her tacks, gasping. The three other girls looked at her inquisitively. Genjuro just chuckled to himself.

"I guess we have some explaining to do before you join the 2nd, don't we?"

'Join the second? They want ME to join THEM? This has to be some really elaborate joke. Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. I know...' Zach winced as she pinched herself on the arm.

"Of course it's not a dream, dummy. You never see the broadcast the Finé terrorists played?" Chris grinned at her confidently, as if she was the one who bested them herself.

"No... I was back in England when that happened... I'm a pretty heavy sleeper so I missed the whole thing... More importantly, what was that about me 'joining the 2nd'? Do you guys really want me to fight for you or something? I'm just a normal guy, I can't enter a military career..." Zach spoke fast, staring at Genjuro's back. He turned around with a straight face. He was really good at those.

"You expect us to just let you walk out of here with that priceless Relic around your neck? AND after finding out you're the wielder of that Relic? No Zach, I'm sorry. We can't just let you walk away for security reasons. This extends past my reach, so I'm sorry for that. We will, however, inform your parents of what happened. And I will give a full debriefing and answer any questions you have. Life with us isn't bad, Zach, but it's better if you get used to it quickly. You'll be seeing these girls a lot over the next few years. Think yourself lucky, they already have taken a liking to you."

"So I'm supposed to join, just like that? What if I don't?" Zach stared into his eyes with a pleading look on her face.

"Well.. it's not like you have any ID to prove who you are..." Hibiki chimed in. "I'm fairly certain you're gonna have to start a new life anyway... your friends would get kinda suspicious if you turned up looking like that." She scanned over Zach, who was holding down the front of her skirt with both hands.

"But it'll be fun! We can sing together, eat together, have sleepovers, you name it! You're part of our squad now, and don't you forget it missy!" Hibiki launched herself towards Zach, engulfing her in a tight hug.

"We'll protect you Zach-chan, don't you worry."

Zach just closed her eyes and cried into Hibiki's shoulder.

After things had settled, Zach, Genjuro and the girls walked through a couple corridors to a conference room, Hibiki holding Zach's hand every step of the way. Zach was still wiping the tears from her face and cursing to herself about how emotional she was, and Tsubasa and Chris talked to eachother quietly.

The group entered the room, which was just a small room containing a large table and a dozen chairs. There was a projector and a computer at the head of the table, seemingly they used this for presentations and conferences. Genjuro sat at the head of the table tapping away at the computer. The three girls sat down quickly, facing towards the projector screen. Zach stood and looked at the chair, then down at her skirt, then back at the chair. Her face slowly turned red as she switched her view from chair to skirt. Eventually she tapped Chris on the shoulder.

"H-how do I.. How do I sit down in this?" Zach was staring at the floor, her cheeks burning. Chris donned a cheesy grin as she turned around.  
"Watch me, ok?" Chris stood up from the chair and looked across the table. She held her skirt and sat down, closing her legs. She put emphasis on the closing her legs part, making sure Zach got the message. Zach simply nodded, and repeated her actions, eliciting giggles from the girls across the table.

"Ready? Alright then.. Let's start by covering the basics. As you probably know, the Noise are a race of unknown beings that started appearing 13 years ago. There was a war with the Noise shortly after the first outbreak, which lasted five years. We lost considerably. The 'war' with the Noise ended abruptly and swiftly, when the Noise vanished out of thin air. Human society had lost millions, but not all. There was time to rebuild, and we used that time effectively. After the war with the Noise was over, Sakurai Ryoko and her team of researches re-instated the Symphogear Project. The project was started during the war, however the project was postponed and resources were diverted to defence operations. It was only after the war that she made any breakthroughs with her research. When the project was initially started, we only had the three-year old Tsubasa as a potential Attuned. Her voice would resonate with the Relics, however no song came to her despite testing on multiple Relics. After re-instating the project, however, we later found a Relic that would respond to Tsubasa to form the Symphogear. This event marked the start of the 2nd Disaster Relief Squad as you see today."

Zach stared intently at Genjuro as he was speaking, filtering the new information through her mind.

'I've gotten myself mixed up in a government program... god damnit, I haven't even been here a year and now I'm stuck here.'  
"So what exactly are the Noise? Are they aliens?" Zach questioned, eyes locked on the Commander.

"The Noise, as you know them, are merciless beings. We cannot negotiate. We cannot even shoot them. The Noise are out of phase with everything but the very Earth itself. As their name suggests, they do this by generating noise at a frequency far above anything we thought possible. This high frequency manifests itself by making them virtually impervious to anything. The only weapon we have against the Noise are Symphogear users, three of which are sitting beside you. With you, we have a total of 7 identified Symphogear users in the 2nd. They defend from the attacks of the Noise and are ultimately our way of further research into Relic tech."

Zach leaned back in her chair, taking in all the information. Several expressions passed over her face before she asked her next question.

"So how does the Symphogear work, if you can't shoot the Noise with regular arms, how does a Symphogear pass through them like a hot knife through butter?"

"Excellent question." Genjuro coughed, then cleared his throat. "The Symphogear is powered and activated by songs. This much you already know. However, what you didn't know is that a Symphogear is capable of producing frequencies higher than that which the Noise emit, and passing them through the entire system. Not only does this protect the users from the usual fate which befalls us when we touch the Noise, it means the armaments within the suit and also interact with the Noise. Since such armaments are sickeningly deadly, they usually serve to utterly annihilate anything in their path. Although, there is a trait Symphogear does not share with the Noise. The Noise are made up of solid frequencies. This is how and why they cannot interact with anything but Symphogear. The Symphogear, however, are made of elements available on Earth. This means that the Symphogear can interact with the environment as well as with the Noise. Of course, this also means that if a Symphogear user were to go rogue, a general-purpose weapon will be able to hit the Symphogear user and bring them down. As reassuring as that is to the general public, It will take far more that a bullet to stop such a rogue."

"Wait, does that mean Symphogear users can fight among themselves?" Zach had been pondering this, though she knew she could never hope to beat any of the three here. The fact that they were here signalled that they were hardened veterans at this stuff in the first place. On top of that, three against one. Yikes.

"You're smarter than you look. Yes, if needs be Symphogear users can engage eachother in combat with potentially devastating results." Genjuro rested his arms on the table and interlaced his fingers. Zach looked at the other girls, and noticed Tsubasa and Chris share an all-knowing look. These girls fought eachother once, perhaps? Zach sighed.

"I guess that means I'm stuck here then. I'd never be able to fight off three veterans anyway..." Hibiki stared into the table, looking as if the very thought of fighting Zach troubled her deeply.

"Not that I'd try of course, fighting with your own side is useless." Hibiki lifted her head and flashed Zach a warm smile.

"So where does that put me? Where do I fit in?" Zach fixed her gaze once again on Genjuro.

"You, Zach Lowe, have shown yourself as one of the Attuned. Since most of what we do here is kept under lock and key and protected with an Army regiment, we can't have word getting out. According to anyone but your family, you have flown back to Britain, under the guise of severe family issues. You have been issued a Japanese citizenship, passport and national number, as well as being issued a new United Kingdom citizenship and passport. We will take the pictures for them tomorrow. As for things that directly influence your home life, you have been transferred to a boarding school with Ms. Tachibana, Tsubasa and . We know this won't be much of a problem, since you attended Katai Jimen Academy, another boarding school in the city. We've had your parents collect your things from your room, and they'll be delivered to your new dorm."

'A new school, huh... I guess I can roll with that. Not like I have much say in the matter anyway...' Zach stared up at the ceiling, thinking about her new life. She snapped back to Genjuro, realising he missed something vital.

"Which school am I attending?"

Genjuro looked away as he said this, lowering his voice.

"Lydian Girl's Music Academy."


	4. Chapter 4

It took them ten minutes to wake Zach back up. The minute Genjuro uttered that answer, there was a loud thud as Zach smashed her head onto the table, fainting. The girls and Genjuro instantly rushed to her aid, their voices shrill as they watched her fall. After five minutes, Genjuro picked her up and took her out of the room taking her to to infirmary once again, with Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris in tow.

'I'm being carried... did I faint?' Zach opened her eyes, eliciting a cry from Hibiki.

"Commander she's awake! COMMANDER!" The group stopped in their tracks, looking at Zach cradled in Genjuro's arms.

"Are you ok?" Genjuro looked down at her, his face solid as granite. "If you need to go see someone tell me now."

"No no, I'm fine... I think. Would you uh, mind putting me down?" Genjuro obliged, setting her down on a nearby bench. Zach sat with her legs open, resting her forearms on her knees and putting her face in her hands. She let out a big sigh and looked at the four people surrounding her, their faces worried.

'Today has been a long day... I need a good sleep...' She'd given up with trying to believe her life wouldn't change much, but that was the icing on the cake.

'I'm going to be attending a girl's only school... not only that, but it's quite a prestigious one too...' Sighing again, she leaned back on the bench and stared at the ceiling, oblivious to the four people around her.

"If you're going to board with me I'm gonna have to teach you some etiquette..." Chris remarked, looking at Zach's sitting position. Zach sat back up, still not closing her legs.

"I'm boarding with you?" Zach looked into her eyes, a bland look on her face.

"Yes, you are." Genjuro cut in. "We thought if you boarded with Chris she could teach you some things... since Tsubasa prefers to live alone and Hibiki already has a roomate."

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Chris put on an inane smile, staring back at Zach.

"I doubt it would be less interesting than today." Zach replied, grinning. She raised her fist, and to Zach's surprise, Chris bumped it.

"Speaking of which," She turned to Genjuro. "How long was I out?"

"Two days and four hours." Genjuro replied in an instant, looking at the clock above the door down the hall. Zach cursed under her breath. "We assume you were out so long because of the havoc the transformation wreaked on your body."

"Havoc indeed... What about my stuff, if I'm staying with Chris, what's happened to my stuff? Did you damage my guitar? So help me god if you did..." Zach clenched her fists.

"Your stuff is fine. We already moved it to Chris's place. You'll find most of it in the closet."

"You play guitar?" Tsubasa cut in. "What kind?" She looked at Zach eagerly, her face lighting up.

"Uh.. I play electric but I know accoustic... I play a Gibson Flying V." Zach unclenched her fists, looking at Tsubasa. "Why?"

"Well... all we do is sing, so you knowing guitar is pretty cool, Zach-chan!" Hibiki commented,looking at her phone.

"Could you show us sometime?" Tsubasa asked, pleading faces on all three girls.  
"Yeah sure. But can I get some sleep or something first? It's been quite a day..." Zach stood up, brushing herself off.

"We had planned on taking you to the dorm tomorrow, but you're in good shape. Even I can see how you'd want to get settled in as soon as possible. Follow me!" Genjuro turned down the hall, walking towards the door.

After trudging through the submarine for five minutes, the group found themselves at the ladder to the hatch. Genjuro, Chris, Hibiki and Tsubasa climbed the ladder no problem, leaving Zach waiting at the bottom. When Genjuro reached the top, he looked down to see her stood there.

"Hurry up, Zach!"

"Sorry... I just didn't want to embarrass anyone by accidentally looking up their skirt..." Zach began climbing the ladder, face fixated on the rungs. The three girls above her suddenly grew very embarrassed and red-faced. When they reached the top, Zach looked out to find herself on a private dock, a black SUV waiting on the road.

'These guys are definitely government...' Zach thought to herself as she crossed the immense submarine top. If the giant submarine HQ didn't give it away, the black suited driver and black SUV definitely did. Genjuro was already there, having a conversation with the driver. When Zach got there, the driver saluted Genjuro and walked onto the bridge Zach had just crossed, heading to the submarine hatch.

"Who was that?" Zach asked, Genjuro turning to face her.  
"Nobody, just someone we hire to drive places and not ask questions. He's very skilled at what he does, saved me three times over the years." Genjuro responded, walking around to the driver's side. "We don't need him for now though, otherwise we wouldn't all fit in the car." He unlocked the door and jumped in the seat, ushering everyone to do the same. Tsubasa got in the front seat next to her uncle, and the three other girls clambered in the back, Zach in the middle. Genjuro started the car and drove off after he heard everyone had clicked their seatbelts, heading north into the city.

"So... what is the dorm like?" Zach hesitantly asked, staring out the windscreen.

"They're so big! It's twice as big as my room at home by far!" Hibiki exclaimed, a smile on her face.

"Of course they'd be twice the size of you room, they're designed for two people. But she's right, they're pretty spacious. I suppose it's the bunk beds that saves so much space, they'd be tiny with separate rooms."Chris rested her chin on her hand, looking out the window.  
"They don't have separate rooms? Where do you get changed?" Zach flushed red.

"Why would you be worrying about that?" Tsubasa asked from the front.  
"Well... if I'm going to be boarding with a girl I can't just watch her... well watch her changing." Zach stared into her lap, grimacing as she was reminded of what she was wearing.

"Well why not? We're all girls here." Hibiki chimed in.

"I was a dude up until two days ago, you know."

"Yeah so?" Chris asked. "You do realise that you'd get the same effect watching yourself change in the mirror, right? Sure, if most girls found out who you are they'd probably be freaked out. I'm not 'most girls'." Chris's question hit deep, sparking new ideas in Zach's head. Hibiki swore she could see them ignite. It only served to make Zach redder and more embarrassed.

The car stopped outside a grandiose school building wedged in between office blocks.

"Ooh, we're here!" Hibiki looked out the window, and moved to get out of the car.

"Tachibana, wait a second." Hibiki stopped in her tracks. "That point you made earlier Zach, about boarding with a girl. I'm sorry to dump this on you now, but remember we did have plans for you to come here tomorrow. It's just... is going around calling yourself 'Zach' going to be beneficial to you, at an all girl's boarding school?" Genjuro turned around, a look of sorrow on his face. He knew he was robably taking the last bit of masculinity Zach had, but he had to. To protect not only her, but the four other girls looking at her, he had to ask her that question. Zach only sat there, grinning.

"I thought this would happen... I chose something hours ago, when you left me alone to get dressed. Ladies, and gentleman, I present to you, Zoe Lowe."


End file.
